TITLE: "The Great Apartment Key Exchange"


BY: Ten


E-MAIL ADDRESS: kristena@ocean.com.au





CATEGORY: V, UST


RATING: PG


SUMMARY: Before the final scenes of "The Erlenmeyer


Flask" Mulder and Scully exchange keys and trust, while


wondering if they still have jobs.


TIMESPAN/SPOILER WARNING: "The Erlenmeyer Flask",


"Tooms".





DISCLAIMER: The X-Files and the characters of Mulder and


Scully belong to Chris Carter, Ten Thirteen Productions


and Fox Broadcasting, and are used without permission. No


copyright infringement is intended, no profit will be


gained.








X-Files: "The Great Apartment Key Exchange"


By Ten, Feb 1997, Posted June 1997








Deep Throat was dead.





There had been no ID on the body - not that Mulder had


been in any state to check. But in the first meeting


after his release from the hospital, Skinner had sternly


informed him the man had been named.





Ronald. Ronald Nevins.





CIA, just like Deep Throat had once mentioned. And a


finger in heaps of other pies too. Not that Mulder got to


look through his resume.





Skinner was furious. This was a high ranking official.


Dead as a result of exchanging stolen top secret


biological matter *for* Mulder. /Gee Sir, I really DID


want to keel over from toxic shock and get kidnapped.


Really and truly! You need new experiences to grow./





What really shocked Mulder - and he guessed Skinner to


some degree - was that Scully had actually gone to such


lengths to get him back. Illegal lengths. Stealing what


looked like an alien foetus from a high-security facility


to give back to the bad guys.





Now Scully's near-perfect resume was stuffed up too.





They were on suspension while waiting to see just what


they had stirred up.





The door was closing on the X-Files.





He would go to Deep Throat's funeral. Arlington. Pay his


respects and see who else surfaced. Had a feeling he'd


need the *really* strong binoculars. The Gunmen would


lend them. He hoped he'd catch Langly because he really


didn't want to have to give Frohike a false number for


Scully in exchange. That would only work once and he


wanted to save it for something major.





Mulder turned off the video at the knock. He let Scully


in. They seemed awkward in their casual clothes.





"No word?"





He shook his head. She didn't want a drink. They sat


down, him on his sofa, her on the armchair. He caught her


studying his face carefully. Both for his feelings and


traces of the burns. The latter had healed well.





"Stop staring." he said with gentle amusement.





Scully shrugged apologetically. "Are your eyes okay?"





"Yeah. They haven't gone funny since early yesterday." He


could see fine, but for short spaces of time in hospital,


his sight kept screwing up.





"Good. We'll check the next blood test to be sure, but I


think it's all out of your system now."





His turn to look at her intently. "What do you think was


in that storage vat?"





"It did look...strange. I know you want me to say alien


foetus, but Mulder...I didn't have time to study it


properly or take a sample for us. I had to get out of the


facility as quickly as possible. Then straight to see


Deep Throat. I had to get you back. It could have been a


deformed embryo or genetic test... I just don't know."





They stared at the coffee table for a few minutes. She


had something awkward she wanted to ask. He knew. "What


is it, Scully?"





"I've been thinking...that it may be a good idea if we


swapped apartment keys."





He went to say /Why Scully we barely know each other/ but


canned it. Anticipation of that sort of behaviour was


making her uncomfortable enough. So he simply and


unleeringly asked, "Why?"





"When I couldn't reach you all night...and I went to your


place... You could have been lying injured on the floor


for all I knew. There could have been some message or


clue... I could always find the supervisor and stick my


badge in their face and do the weight throwing to get in,


but that's all valuable time lost. In our line of work


and uncertainty, I need to know I can have easy access.


It would just make me feel a lot better." There was a


pause and she fumbled to cover, "And besides, if you run


off, someone's got to feed the fish."





"Or flush them."





"So...what do you think?"





"As usual, Agent Scully, a good idea. And not just in


case I get locked out accidentally. I'll give you my


spare and get another one cut." Mulder frowned, trying to


work out where he'd put it. As he got up and searched


round, he said, "Okay, so you need mine in case I do


something stupid. Completely understood. But are you so


sure about an *exchange*? I'd understand if you felt


uncomfortable about it. You'd never do anything stupid.


And I think you're offering just to make me feel better."





She already had her key in her hands, which were sitting


in her lap. She was fiddling and he could see it was


newly cut. "Psychologists," she sighed dramatically,


"This is not just a case of show me yours and I'll show


you mine." Her eyes tracked him as he went to another


hopeful location, his desk drawer. "What about when Tooms


decided to follow me home?"





"Oh yeah... That damn front door was lead-lined, I


swear."





"See?"





"Well, okay, just don't get abducted again. Please.


Whether I can race in or not without dislocating my


shoulder doesn't mean it won't still scare the hell out


of me."





"Excuse me, but YOU were the one just kidnapped, not me.


We should draw up scorecards."





After a bit of rummaging in several places, he


triumphantly held up his spare.





They hesitated there, holding their own keys, smiling at


the situation. They were about to give each other great


access to their private lives.





With great tongue-in-cheek solemnity, Mulder took her


left hand and placed the key in her palm. Regally, Scully


reciprocated and grinned at his bow.





"I never thought we'd trade anything but paperwork and


witticisms." he said, fingering the object that seemed


far from innocuous now.





"And theories."





"Easy business though. I didn't even have to take you out


to dinner."





"We've had dinner together." she protested, as if


pointing out she was not "easy".





"On the Bureau's tab." he pointed back.





Mulder watched her work her new acquisition carefully


onto her keychain. He was still holding the other. "We're


fast workers."





"We've been together a while." she pointed out, "Longer


than a lot of relationships. We've considered this


partnership carefully."





"And you don't want out? If there is a partnership left


after all this?"





"Mulder, I traded you for a prime-grade Thingamagum and


I'm demanding satisfaction for my decision. You have to


prove that you're worth it. You can't give in."





His smile gave away his inner thoughts while his words


gave them enough distance to stay comfortable, "Okay,


let's put this in perspective. You can sneak in and


borrow my underwear if I can use that lovely deep tub I


saw."





"Have to check my diary. Dear Eugene might be rather


attached to it."





"Oh yeah, he'd steal all the bubble bath."





Scully checked her watch and reluctantly stood, pocketing


the jingling chain that now seemed so much heavier. He


was trusting her.





She gave that rare smile that lifted his heart. "Night,


Mulder."





He opened the door for her. "Night, Scully."





She hesitated just outside, mischief in her eyes. "About


that underwear...do you have red silk?"





"Sneak in one day and find out. I'm sure something in the


Valentine or Christmas selection will be just what you're


looking for."





"Ho ho ho." and then she was gone.





But her warmth remained on the key and in his heart. And


would no matter what happened to their jobs.








THE END